The Week in Photos {It's Fall, Ya'll!}

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Happy Fall, Ya'll!!  While it's still too warm for scarves & boots (boo) here in Southern California, it is definitely fall.  Officially.  I've always been obsessed with all things autumn, and this week we visited a couple of north county pumpkin patches that are just too cute not to share with you.

The Week in Photos hasn't happened in quite some time because, well, there really haven't been a ton of exciting photos to share with you.  So until your next dose of deliciousness (there's some good stuff coming up soon, folks!) here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

And to all you lucky peeps who are experiencing crisp weather and crunchy red leaves, go stomp in a pile of leaves for me, will ya??  Come back and tell me all about it so I can live vicariously through you.  :)


beautiful storm clouds

Buddies.

Is it me or does it look like the chicken is thinking "What a show off."  ??

They mean business.  We got scolded for petting a very friendly horse.  Whoops.

I love the contrast between the pumpkins and the corn stalks!



Did I mention I am completely smitten with white pumpkins???

Serene.

*With the exception of the first pic and the last pic, which were edited in Instagram, all photos are completely unedited.  Yes, the pumpkins really were that bright orange!  Amazing!

Cantaloupe Agua Frescas

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Hello?  Anyone out there?  Yes guys, I'm alive.  And today I am back from a long and unexpected hiatus to bring you a delicious - and ridiculously easy - recipe for a refreshing drink, along with an explanation of said hiatus.

I actually made this agua frescas over a month ago, and then some exciting stuff started happening so I haven't had a chance to share it with you all until now.  Remember when I promised you that I'd explain our exciting family news?  I'm a girl who is true to her word, and today the wait is over.  Our family trip to San Francisco was to celebrate my beautiful sis-in-law's baby shower!  In February we found out we were going to have a little niece or nephew come fall, and believe me it has been so hard to keep the surprise a.... well, SURPRISE this long!

Apparently we weren't the only ones excited for fall to come, because our sweet nephew decided to make a summer entrance instead.  On August 21 our perfect little angel of a nephew was born.  Without further adieu, I present to you, Diego.

To say we love him in an understatement of epic proportions.  He melts my heart.  I cried when we met him and burst into tears when we had to leave.  So as you can see, I've been a little distracted by the preciousness for a few weeks.  You forgive me, right?

Along with welcoming our nephew, we also up and moved.  We've spent the past couple of weeks getting settled in our new place and it's starting to feel like home now.  Chico has decided that the stairs in the new house are much cooler than the stairs in the old house, and runs up and down them about 25 times a day.  He's a goof.

So now that the dust has begun to settle, I will be getting back into my cooking/baking/blogging routine and will be bringing you yummyness on a more regular basis.  You know I'm obsessed with fall, and I'm so excited that it's finally here!  YAY, scarves and boots!  Except that it's gonna be about 90 degrees here for the next several days...  womp womp.  Might need to make a couple more batches of agua frescas to get us through the heat wave.

Agua Frescas are very versatile.  You can make this with all sorts of fruits - pineapple is fantastic.  Some mexican restaurants offer this on their drink menu, and around here we indulge when it's Fiesta.  Fiesta (aka Old Spanish Days) is a celebration of Santa Barbara's spanish roots and includes tons of food, dancing, music and booths of trinkets and treats and carnivals for the kids that span across the town.  It's great fun.

I have been on a cantaloupe binge, but feel free to switch up fruits when you make yours.  I'd love to hear how you customize.

Aguas Frescas
| Serves 6-8 | Prep time: 15 mins. | 
1 ripe cantaloupe, cubed
1/2 c agave
1/4 c honey

Place cubed cantaloupe in a food processor (you may need to do this in batches) and puree until completely smooth.  Transfer puree to a large bowl or pitcher.  Rinse the bowl of the food processor and reassemble.  Strain the puree back into the bowl of the processor.  Depending on the fruit you use, the pulp can be a bit thick, so you may need to use a wooden spoon to coax along the straining process.  Discard the pulp.  Add the agave and honey to the strained juice and puree until completely mixed.  Taste for sweetness. Enjoy very cold/over ice.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Originally the idea behind this muffin was to broaden the breakfast horizon.  I'm a sucker for a baked good, and if that baked good happens to have a smidge of chocolate in it, move outta my way.  I'm goin' in.  So it shouldn't surprise anyone that we plowed through these muffins so quickly that they only made it to one breakfast. 

We had a bunch of zucchini on hand from making veggie pizza, so zucchini bread or muffins seemed the natural next step.  No different than using carrots in a cake, right?  Pretty much. 

This recipe makes six muffins, so if you're anything like me you may want to double it so you have plenty on hand for midnight snacks, pinterest surfing snacks, no wait!  I mean...  while dinner is cooking snacks, No really - breakfast.  Yeah, that's it.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

|Yields: 6 muffins | Prep time: 5 mins. | Bake time: 20-22 mins.|

3/4 c AP flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c agave (a bit less if you're adding chocolate chips)

1 egg

1/4 c coconut oil, melted

1 c grated zucchini, extra water squeezed out

1/3 c slivered almonds or walnuts

1/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray, or line with baking cups.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Set aside.  In a slightly larger bowl, whisk together agave, egg, coconut oil and zucchini.  Stor the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, careful not to over-mix. 

Fold in nuts and chocolate chips until just incorporated.  Fill cups about 2/3 full (I use an ice cream scoop for perfect measuring) and bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely if you have the willpower.
Adapted from taste of home

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White Pizza with Pesto and Veggies

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This is another perfect recipe for Meatless Mondays - and one that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  Who doesn't love pizza?  Crispy, crunchy crust with ooey gooey melted cheese... mmmmm...

I think I may be hungry.  It's really a shame that we devoured this entire pizza and dashed any hopes of leftovers.

Produce stands everywhere are overflowing with amazing summer goodies right now.  For the moment I've gotten the stone fruit obsession calmed, so now I'm on to things like summer squash.  There may or may not be another zucchini recipe lurking on the horizon...  You're on the edge of your seats now, aren't you? 

Hubby declared this pizza "really yummy" and I've got to say I agree with him.  This will definitely be joining our weekly rotation.  One of the great things about pizza is that you can top it with pretty much whatever your little heart desires.  It's a great way to use up some of the random unused veggies that tend to accumulate over the week. 

Happy Friday!

White Pizza with Pesto and Veggies
1 prepared pizza dough, at room temp
1/2 c (or so) of homemade or store bought pesto
1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 c chopped asparagus
Garlic oil (recipe below)

Turn on your oven to the highest it will go (ours is 550) and preheat (with the pizza stone in) for about an hour.  In the meantime, let the dough come to room temperature and chop the veggies.

Lightly dust a sheet of parchment with flour.  Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin until it's about 1/4" thick.  Spread pesto evenly across the dough.  Top with shredded cheese, chopped veggies and a couple turns of fresh cracked black pepper.  Drizzle whole pizza with a couple spoonfuls of garlic oil.  Bake for approx 8 minutes, or until cheese is brown and bubbly and crust is crisp.  Drizzle a tad more garlic oil over the top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

For the garlic oil...
Pour about a cup of extra virgin olive oil into a jar and toss in several peeled garlic cloves.  Let sit for a couple days so the garlic flavor infuses the oil.  Use on pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, etc.

Stone Fruit Frozen Yogurt in Coconut Crisp Cups

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You all know that I'm a sucker for the fall and winter months, but I have to admit that summer has some pretty great characteristics as well.  Summer fruit is at the top of that list.  Peaches, cherries, nectarines and avocados are some of my favorite things in the world, and I kinda go stone fruit crazy when they are in season.  

Every summer for the past several years, we have tromped through carefully stepped over smooshed fruit on the walkway, never bothering to take a few seconds to figure out what kind of fruit tree we were dealing with.  Here's the funny/embarrassing truth: we have had a beautiful peach tree outside our door and never realized it!  What a bunch of goofs!  Now that we've figured out that useful little tidbit of info, I'm in a peach frenzy.

I've been looking for excuses to use our new ice cream maker since last month when mom & dad brought us those gorgeous cherries.  Instead of your typical sugary ice cream, this time I went for a much healthier frozen yogurt.  Oh, and did I mention it involves only three ingredients??  Okay, well, five if you include the two needed for the coconut crisp cups.  Fruit, yogurt and agave nectar are all you need to make this delish frozen yogurt, and if you're feeling fancy you can go the extra step (and the extra two ingredients) and make the coconut crisp cups.  Deceptively simple and delish?!  I'm in.

Everything you need for this recipe can be found at Trader Joe's.  Their Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins are so darn yummy, and make the perfect crumb for the coconut crisp cups.  The light coconut flavor is a great compliment to the tart and sweet peaches.

Stone Fruit Frozen Yogurt

2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and diced

2 ripe nectarines, peeled, pitted and diced

1/3 - 1/2 c agave nectar (sweeten to taste)

2 c plain greek yogurt*

*Note: for a more ice-creamy/less tangy flavor, try making this with vanilla yogurt.  

Once you have the fruit diced, put about half of it in a food processor and process briefly, so that some of the fruit remains in tact and some is pureed smooth.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Add in diced fruit, yogurt and agave nectar.  Stir until thoroughly combined.  Adjust the amount of agave to your taste.  Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

This is fabulous at the soft-serve consistency.  If you'd like it a bit more firm, place in a freezer-safe container and freeze in 30 minute increments.  Careful, cuz it will freeze solid pretty quickly.  If storing in the freezer, transfer to the fridge to soften for about two hours prior to serving.  

Coconut Crisp Cups

1 sleeve Trader Joe's Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins

1 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Pulse cookies to a fine crumb in a food processor.  Alternately you can place in a resealable bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the coconut oil.  Press crumb mixture into muffin tins, forming little cups.  Bake 5-7 minutes.  Cook completely before removing from tin.  (The best way to do this is to turn the tin over and lightly tap the back.)